Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 7 works by Ikeda Koson in our catalogue
In short
Cypresses (801) is the Ikeda Koson painting that draws the most eyes. After it, the eye goes to Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons (801) and Bird and Water Plants. Among the 7 works of Ikeda Koson in our catalog, these 7 are the most famous, each a unique original presented with its year, its museum and the reason it endures.
In this dramatic close-up of a single landscape element, Ikeda Koson renders a timeless moment in a grove of hinoki cypresses. He depicts an atmosphere of misty space and shifting light by skillfully varying ink tones from black to gray in the leaves of frond-like branchlets. Texture and form result from the application of wet ink over pale washes on the tree trunks. Koson, a pupil of the Rinpa revivalist…
The right-hand scroll depicts flowers of the spring and summer seasons; the left, flowers and foliage of autumn and winter. Both works are executed in subtle yet rich tones and soft washes of color; leaves, branches, and flowers are rendered in the “boneless” manner—devoid of outline—that was typical of established Rinpa style. In numerous areas pigments are pooled or puddled together to create a mottled effect, a technique known as…
The 5 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Ikeda Koson | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art |
Providence | 2 | Oriole, butterfly and peonies in rain, Sparrows and Snow-covered Cedar |
 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
New York | 1 | Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons |
 Worcester Art Museum |
Worcester | 1 | Bird and Water Plants |
 Yale University Art Gallery |
New Haven | 1 | Thirty-Six Immortal Poet |
 Minneapolis Institute of Art |
Minneapolis | 1 | Thirty-Six Immortal Poets |
Cypresses (801). Flowers and Birds of the Four Seasons (801) and Bird and Water Plants come next.
Our catalog holds 7 works by Ikeda Koson.
Mostly in Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art (Providence), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) and Worcester Art Museum (Worcester). The museum table above lists them all.
Oriole, butterfly and peonies in rain and Sparrows and Snow-covered Cedar: the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Providence holds 2 of the works on this page.
